System, method, apparatus, and program for providing electronic manual

ABSTRACT

When a customer operates a terminal to send a request for a provision of a manual page to the center via the Internet, the center determines whether the customer who is accessing is a registered customer (user of a copier) based on the stored customer information. In a case where the customer who is accessing the center is a registered customer, the center automatically selects electronic manual file(s) for the copier being used by the customer concerned. And the center generates a manual page representing the content of the selected manual file so that the content of the manual file is noticeable rather than the other information. The center transmits the manual page to the terminal concerned.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/984,474,filed Oct. 30, 2001, which claims priority to Japanese PatentApplication No. 2000-338927, filed Nov. 7, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system, a method, an apparatus and aprogram for providing an electronic manual, and particularly relates toa system, a method, an apparatus and a program for providing anelectronic manual that can automatically select an electronic manual fora product which a user uses and provide the electronic manual to theuser.

2. Description of the Related Art

Instead of the conventional paper based manuals (describing how to use aproduct or cautions), electronically written manuals (hereinafter,referred to as “electronic manual”) have been used widely in view ofcircumstances wherein contents is getting larger in accordance withimprovement of the products' performance, or demands for saving papers.

The electronic manuals are advantageous over paper based manuals. Forexample, it is able to distribute it via communications networks, suchas the Internet, or it is easy to edit the contents.

However, in a case where electronic manuals for many products areprovided through a web site, it is difficult for a user to find out atarget manual instantly.

Some of electric apparatuses have display units to display electronicmanuals, and the electronic manuals usually include “Trouble Shooting”for quick recovery from troubles. However, if the electric apparatus hastroubles on its display unit, a user can not refer to the troubleshooting.

In a case where a user upgrades a product, the upgraded product and theformer one usually share the same or similar functions. In such thecase, it is troublesome for the user to find out necessary article tolearn characteristic functions of the upgraded product from a fullversion manual.

A person who plans to buy a product, usually compares catalogs ofpicked-up products. Since most of such the catalogs merely presentfeatures of the products, it is difficult to imagine handling orusability of the product. In such the situation, the manual is useful tolearn how to handle the product. But unfortunately, most of the manualsare unavailable before the user actually buys the product. That is, itis difficult to previously study usability of the picked-up products.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the abovecircumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide asystem, a method, an apparatus, and a program for providing anelectronic manual by which an electronic manual of a product being usedby a customer is automatically selected and provided.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a system, amethod, an apparatus, and a program for providing an electronic manualby which an electronic manual describing functional differences betweentarget products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the above objects, an electronic manual providing systemaccording to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a serverand a plurality of terminals connected with each other via acommunication network, wherein the server comprises:

an electronic manual storage unit which stores electronic manualinformation sets each of which describes the contents of a manual of aproduct;

a request receiver which receives request information for requesting aprovision of an electronic manual from each the terminal via thecommunications network;

a customer information memory which stores customer informationregarding a customer in association with product informationrepresenting a product being used by the customer;

a customer identifier which determines whether a sender of requestinformation received by the request receiver is a customer registered inthe customer information, based on the customer information stored inthe customer information memory;

a manual selector which selects the electronic manual information setsof a product represented by product information stored in associationwith the customer information from the electronic manual storage unit,in a case where the customer identifier determines that the sender ofthe request information is the customer registered in the customerinformation; and

a manual provider which provides the electronic manual information setsselected by the manual selector to each the terminal via thecommunications network.

According to this structure, in a case where a person who wants anelectronic manual, which describes the contents of a manual for aproduct, is determined as a registered customer, the electronic manualfor the product being used by that customer is automatically selected,and the customer is provided with the selected manual. Therefore, userscan easily obtain an electronic manual of a product being used byhim/her.

In the above electronic manual providing system, the manual provider mayprovide the electronic manual information sets selected by the manualselector to each the terminal so that the information representing theelectronic manual is noticeable rather than other information.

According to this structure, the selected electronic manual is presentedso that the information representing the manual is noticeable ratherthan the other information. For example, to display the manual of theproduct concerned above the other information (such as manualinformation for another product), or to display the manual informationwith colors being different from those for the other information.Therefore, the customer can more easily obtain the electronic manual ofthe product being used by him/her.

In the above electronic manual providing system,

the customer information may include history information representingpurchase history, and

the manual selector may select electronic manual information setsregarding differences between the product being used by the customer andthe former product based on the history information.

According to this structure, the customer who bought a new model isprovided with manual information specialized in different functions fromthose of the former model. Therefore, it is helpful for the customer toquickly master how to operate the new model. Since only necessary andsufficient information is transmitted, connection time for browsing anelectronic manual is reduced.

In the above electronic manual providing system,

the customer identifier may receive information representing a productdesired by the customer, and

the manual selector may select the electronic manual information setsregarding differences between the customer's desired product representedby the information received by the customer identifier and the productbeing used by the customer.

According to this structure, for example, in a case where a customerplans to buy another product, an electronic manual regarding differencesbetween the product desired by the customer and the product being usedby the customer is automatically selected, and the customer is providedwith the differential manual just inputting information specifying theproduct (such as the product name, model number and the like) he/shedesires. Therefore, the customer will be provided with a necessary,sufficient, and useful material information for consideration.

In the above electronic manual providing system,

the customer information may include attribute information representingattribute of the customer with respect to the product being used by thecustomer, and

the manual selector may retrieve the electronic manual information setsfor a specified product, and may further select the electronic manualinformation sets from the retrieved electronic manual information setsbased on the attribute information.

According to this structure, the electronic manuals corresponding to theskill level of the user are selected and provided to the user. Forexample, the users may be classified into some skill levels such as“Ordinary User” who knows merely fundamental functions of the product,“Advanced User” who is skilled in handling the product, and the like.The server determines the skill level of the user who is accessing theserver, and automatically selects the manual files in accordance withthe determined skill level. For example, the server selects basic levelmanual files for the “Ordinary User”, while selecting advanced levelmanual files for the “Advanced User”. Since only the files correspondingto the user's skill level are transferred, the user obtains necessaryfiles and connection time is reduced.

In the above electronic manual providing system, the communicationsnetwork may be the Internet.

With the use of the Internet, the customers can easily obtain manualinformation. Additionally, the user can obtain the electronic manualthrough a terminal such as a personal computer or the like beingconnected to the Internet. In this case, the user can refer to “TroubleShooting” even if a product which displays the electronic manualinformation has troubles.

To achieve the above objects, an electronic manual providing systemaccording to a second aspect of the present invention comprises:

electronic manual storage means for storing electronic manual files eachof which represents the contents of a manual for a product;

manual request reception means for receiving request information forrequesting the electronic manual files stored in the electronic manualstorage means;

requester specification means for specifying a sender of the requestinformation received by the manual request reception means;

manual file retrieval means for retrieving the electronic manual filesfor a product used by a requester specified by the requesterspecification means, from the electronic manual storage means; and

manual sending means for sending the electronic manual file retrieved bythe manual file retrieval means to the requester.

According to this structure, electronic manual information representingthe contents of a manual for a desired product is provided via acommunications network. Therefore, a person who plans to buy a productis provided with a useful material information for consideration beforepurchase.

To achieve the above objects, an electronic manual providing methodaccording to a third aspect of the present invention comprises:

an electronic manual storing step of storing electronic manualinformation sets each of which electronically describes a manual for aproduct;

a customer information managing step of managing customer informationregarding a customer in association with product informationrepresenting a product being used by the customer;

a request receiving step of receiving request information for requestingthe electronic manual of a product via a communications network;

a customer identifying step of determining whether a sender of therequest information received in the request receiving step is thecustomer registered in the customer information;

an electronic manual selecting step of selecting the electronic manualinformation sets representing the contents of the manual for the productbeing associated with the customer information, from the electronicmanual information stored at the electronic manual storing step when itis determined at the customer identifying step that the sender of therequest information is the customer; and

an electronic manual providing step of providing the electronic manualinformation sets selected at the electronic manual selecting step, to aterminal which is the source of the request information via thecommunication network.

In the above method, the electronic manual providing step may providethe electronic manual information to the terminal so that theinformation representing the contents of the manual is noticeable ratherthan the other information.

In the above method, the customer information may include informationrepresenting history information representing purchase history, and

the electronic manual selecting step may select the electronic manualsets regarding differences between the product being used by thecustomer and a former product based on the history information.

In the above method, the customer identifying step may receiveinformation representing a product desired by the customer, and

the electronic manual selecting step may select an electronic manualregarding differences between the product represented by the informationreceived at the customer identifying step and the product being used bythe customer.

In the above method, the customer information may include attributeinformation representing attribute of the customer with respect to theproduct, and

the electronic manual selecting step may obtains the electronic manualinformation sets for the specified product, and further selects theelectronic manual files from the obtained electronic manual files basedon the attribute information.

In the above method, the communications network may be the Internet.

To achieve the above objects, the electronic manual providing methodaccording to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises:

an electronic manual generating step of generating electronic manualinformation sets each which electronically represents the contents of amanual for a product;

an electronic manual storing step of storing the electronic manualinformation sets generated at the electronic manual generating step;

a request reception step of receiving request information for requestingthe electronic manual information stored at the electronic manualstoring step;

a requester specifying step of specifying a requester of the requestinformation received at the request reception step;

a manual selecting step of selecting the electronic manual sets for aproduct being used by the requester specified at the requesterspecifying step, from the electronic information sets stored at theelectronic manual storing step; and

a manual providing step of providing the electronic manual informationsets selected at the manual selecting step, to the requester specifiedat the requester specifying step.

To achieve the above objects, the apparatus according to a fifth aspectof the present invention comprises:

a connector which connects the apparatus to a terminal via acommunication network;

an electronic manual storage unit which stores electronic manualinformation sets each of which is electronically describes the contentsof a manual for a product;

a customer information memory which stores customer informationregarding a customer in association with product informationrepresenting a product being used by the customer;

a manual request receiver which control the connector to receive manualrequest information sent from the terminal via the communicationsnetwork;

a customer identifier which determines whether a sender of the manualrequest information received by the manual request receiver is thecustomer registered in the customer information;

a manual selector which selects the electronic manual information setsfrom the electronic manual storage unit in accordance with the manualrequest when the customer identifier determines that the sender of themanual request information is the customer; and

a manual provider which controls the connector to provide the electronicmanual information sets selected by the manual selector, to the terminalvia the communications network.

In the above apparatus, the manual provider may provide the electronicmanual information sets selected by the manual selector to the terminalso that the information representing the contents of the manual isnoticeable rather than the other information.

To achieve the above objects, the program according to a sixth aspect ofthe present invention, causes a computer to function as the aboveapparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These objects and other objects and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent upon reading of the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a structure ofan electronic manual providing system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of thestructure of a center shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of customer information recordedin a customer information database shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of files recorded in themanual database shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an operation forproviding an electronic manual, carried out in the center shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a top page transmitted in theprocess flow shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an operation forproviding visitor's manual pages carried out in the process flow shownin FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an item selector pageaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic manual pagetransmitted in the process flow shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a form page for inputting IDinformation transmitted in the process flow shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a customer page transmittedin the process flow shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an operation forproviding a customer's manual page carried in the process flow shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a top page transmitted in theprocess flow shown in FIG. 12

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a personalizingoperation carried out in the process flow shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of an option selector pagetransmitted in the process flow shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of MMF tables to be referred toin the process flow shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic manual pagetransmitted in the process flow shown in FIG. 12;

FIGS. 18A and 18B are diagrams showing other examples of the electronicmanual pages transmitted in the process flow shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation forproviding the customer's manual page carried out in the process flowshown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic manual pagetransmitted in the process flow shown in FIG. 19.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the structure ofthe electronic manual providing system according to this embodiment ofthe present invention. In this embodiment, “copier” will be employed as“product” to be dealt with in the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic manual providing system 1000according to this embodiment comprises a communications network 3, acenter 100, a plurality of copiers 300-1 to 300-n installed in aplurality of companies 200-1 to 200-n, and a plurality of terminals500-1 to 500-n installed in a plurality of companies 200-1 to 200-n.

The communications network 3 may be the Internet which interconnects thecenter 100 and the terminals 500, and transfers informationtherebetween. In this embodiment, the Internet will be employed as thecommunications network 3 (hereinafter referred to as the Internet 3). Inthis case; the Internet 3 is accessible via leased line, PSTN (PublicSwitched Telephone Networks), mobile communications network, CATV (cabletelevision: Community Antenna Television) network, various wireless orwire communications network, or the like, or some or all of them.

The center 100 is administered by a business manufacturing and/orvending the copiers 300. The center 100 comprises a data processor suchas a mainframe or a workstation.

The structure of the center 100 will now be explained with reference toFIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an example ofthe structure of the center 100.

The center 100 comprises a control unit 10, a CCU (Communication ControlUnit) 11, a customer information database 12, a program memory unit 13,a manual database 14, and an input unit 15.

The control unit 10 may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit) whichcontrols any components in the center 100. The control unit 10 carriesout any operations described later by executing programs stored in theprogram memory unit 13.

The CCU 11 may be a communication device such as a router. The CCU 11connects the center 100 to the Internet 3, and processes transmissionand reception of information to/from the terminals 500.

The customer information database 12 may be a rewritable storage unitsuch as a hard disk drive. The customer information database 12 storescustomer information. FIG. 3 is a diagram exemplifying the customerinformation. As shown in FIG. 3, the customer information includes“Corporate ID”, “Current Model”, “E-mail Address”, “Password”, “UserAttribute”, “History”, and the like.

“Corporate ID” represents ID assigned to each of the companies 200;

“Current Model” represents model No. or name of the copier 300 beinginstalled in the corresponding company 200;

“E-mail Address” and “Password” will act as user ID of users of thecopier 300;

“User Attribute” represents position of the user in view of using thecopier 300; and

“History” represents upgrade history of the copiers, that is, indicatingformer models of the copier before the currently used copier 300 wasintroduced, and date of the latest upgrade.

Details of “User Attribute” will now be described. The users areclassified into four categories, “Ordinary User”, “Key Operator”,“Administrator”, and “Purchaser”.

“Ordinary User” means users who, for example, just use the copier 300with ordinary function (for example, just copying).

“Key Operator” means users who, for example, have advanced skill ratherthan “Ordinary User”, that is, users who know advanced functions of thecopier 300.

“Administrator” means users who, for example, can handle maintenancetasks such as toner replenishing.

“Purchaser” means users who, for example, are in charge of purchasingsupplies for the copier 300 (for example, toner units, paper, and thelike for replenishment), but their operation skill is the same as thatof the “Ordinary User”.

The user attribution is arbitrary information registered user by user.

The program memory unit 13 may be a semiconductor memory device whichstores programs to be executed by the control unit 10. In thisembodiment, the program memory unit 13 stores a program for realizing asystem for dynamic contents such as CGI (Common Gateway Interface) andthe like. Hereinafter, such the program for CGI will be referred to as“CGI program”. According to the CGI program, the control unit 10executes other application programs and/or accesses databases todynamically generate web page data. Thus generated web page data may bewritten in, for example, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) which issuitable for data transfer via the Internet 3.

The manual database 14 may be a rewritable storage unit such as a harddisk drive which stores electronic manual files written in, for example,HTML. The electronic manual files represent manuals for the productsdealt by the manufacturer of the copier 300. FIG. 4 is a diagram forexplaining an example of the electronic manual files being stored in themanual database 14. As shown in FIG. 4, records prepared for the modelsare stored in the manual database 14. That is, the electronic manualfiles in one record represents a series of manual for the correspondingmodel, and those files are categorized in accordance with the functionof the model. Some of the electronic manual files will be selected inaccordance with, for example, the user's request, thus manual pages willbe created case by case.

The input unit 15 comprises, may be a keyboard, a mouse, and the like,to be used for inputting (editing) data to be stored (being stored) inthe customer information database 12 and the manual database 14. Forexample, the input unit 15 is used for entering new customer informationto the customer information database 12, or for adding or updating theelectronic manual files in the manual database 14.

A process for providing electronic manuals according to the electronicmanual providing system 1000 according to the present embodiment willnow be explained below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5.

In this embodiment, a web site is established by the businessmanufacturing/vending the copier 300 to present various information(corporate information, product information, recruit information, andthe like) through the Internet 3. The web site is built in the center100. The web site includes pages for presenting electronic manuals(hereinafter referred to as “manual pages”) available by using theterminal 500 through the Internet 3.

When a user operates the terminal 500 and accesses the web site (stepS101: YES), the control unit 10 executes the CGI program and the like inthe program memory unit 13 to generate web page data of a top page ofthe web site as shown in FIG. 6. The control unit 10 controls the CCU 11to transmit the web page data to the terminal 500 (step S102). Thecontrol unit 10 also generates information for distinguishing theterminal 500 (such as cookie) and transmits it to the terminal 500 inorder to identify the terminal 500 during the following sessions.Accordingly, “terminal 500” in the following explanations indicates theterminal 500 that accesses the center 100 at step S101.

As shown in FIG. 6, the top page includes some hyperlinks to the otherpages in the web site. The web site includes unlimited pages being opento the public and limited pages which limits the users to registeredcustomers (hereinafter, referred to as “customer page”). The registeredcustomer means genuine users of the copier 300.

Since the customer page is limited to the registered customers, visitorsother than the registered customers (hereinafter, the registeredcustomer will be referred to as “customer”, and the visitors other thanthe registered customers will be referred to as “visitor”) may notselect the hyperlink for the customer page. In this case (step S103:YES), the center 100 continuously provides the top page (unless anyhyperlink is selected). The top page also includes the hyperlink topages representing manuals (hereinafter referred to as “manual pages”).The visitors may select hyperlink to the manual pages if necessary.

If the hyperlink to the manual pages is selected (step S104: YES), anoperation for providing the manual pages for visitors (hereinafter,referred to as “visitor's manual page”) is executed in step S200. On theother hand, if the hyperlink to the manual pages is not selected (stepS104: NO), that is, the hyperlinks are not selected or the hyperlink toother page is selected, the center 100 provides the top pagecontinuously or pages corresponding to the selected hyperlink (stepS150).

The operation for providing the visitor's manual page (step S200) willnow be explained below with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 7.

Upon selection of the hyperlink at step S104, the control unit 10executes the CGI program and the like to generate web page datarepresenting a page for selecting a product desired by the visitor(hereinafter, referred to as “item selector page”) as shown in FIG. 8.And the control unit 10 controls the CCU 11 to transmit the generatedweb page data to the terminal 500 (step S201).

The item selector page has arbitrary selector(s) such as a combo box asshown in FIG. 8. In this case, the visitor select desired product fromthe list. More precisely, each product name in the list includesinvisible information specifying the that product (hereinafter, referredto as “item identifier”). When the user selects desired item name, thecorresponding item identifier is transmitted to the center 100.

When the CCU 11 of the center 100 receives the item identifier from theterminal 500 via the Internet 3 (step S202: YES), the control unit 10retrieves electronic manual files from the manual database 14. In thiscase, the control unit 10 obtains the manual file from the recordcorresponding to the product specified by the received item identifier.Then, the control unit 10 executes the CGI program and the like togenerate web page data representing manual page as shown in FIG. 9 (stepS204). In this case, the control unit 10 generates the web page data, sothat the page includes information represented by the retrieved manualfile. The control unit 10 controls the CCU 11 to transmit the generatedweb page data to the terminal 500 via the Internet 3 (step S205), andterminates the operation.

Another operation for a case where the customer accesses the web sitewill now be explained.

When the customer operates the terminal 500 and selects the hyperlink tothe customer page, the terminal 500 transmits a request signal forrequesting the customer page to the center 100.

When the CCU 11 of the center 100 receives the request signal from theterminal 500 (step S103: NO (FIG. 5)), the control unit 10 executes theCGI program and the like in the program memory unit 13 to generate webpage data representing a form page for inputting user ID as shown inFIG. 10. Then the control unit 10 controls the CCU 11 to transmit thegenerated web page data to the terminal 500, thus requesting thecustomer to input his/her user ID (step S105).

As shown in FIG. 10, the form page includes text boxes for inputting thecustomer's mail address, password, and corporate ID (that is, user ID),and buttons for sending or canceling the input information.

When the customer inputs his/her user ID and select the “send” button,the terminal 500 transmits the input user ID to the center 100 via theInternet 3.

When the CCU 11 of the center 100 receives the user ID from the terminal500, the control unit 10 determines whether the user is the registeredcustomer or not (step S106). In this case, the control unit 10 accessesthe customer information database 12 to determine whether user ID whichcoincides with the received ID has been registered in the customerinformation database 12 or not.

In a case where the customer information database 12 does not have theuser ID coinciding with the received user ID, or any one of the items inthe received user ID is incorrect, the control unit 10 determines thatthe user concerned is not the registered customer (step S106: NO), andterminates the process.

In contrast, in a case where the user authentication is successful, thatis, the control unit 10 determines that the user concerned is theregistered customer (step S106: YES), the control unit 10 executes theCGI program and the like to generate web page data representing acustomer page as shown in FIG. 11. The control unit 10 controls the CCU11 to transmit the web page data to the terminal 500 (step S107). Notethat the customer page includes specialized information for theregistered customers, such as support information and upgradeinformation.

As shown in FIG. 11, the customer page also includes a hyperlink tomanual pages specialized for the customers (hereinafter, referred to as“customer's manual page”). URL (Uniform Resource Locator) indicating themanual page for the customers is invisibly assigned to the hyperlink.That is, if the user selects the hyperlink with operating the terminal500, the terminal 500 transmits the URL to the center 100.

When the CCU 11 of the center 100 receives the URL indicating thecustomer's manual page from the terminal 500 (step S108: YES), anoperation for providing the customer's manual pages is carried out atstep S300.

On the other hand, in a case where the hyperlink to the customer'smanual page is not selected by the terminal 500, that is, no hyperlinkis selected or the hyperlink to another page is selected, the controlunit 10 transmits the customer page continuously or other designatedpage (step S150).

The operation for providing the customer's manual page (step S300) willnow be explained with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 12.

The control unit 10 accesses the customer information database 12 torefer to “Current Model” in the customer information corresponding tothe user ID received at step S106 (step S301).

Then, the control unit 10 executes the CGI program and the like togenerate web page data representing a top page of the customer's manualpages as shown in FIG. 13. The control unit 10 controls the CCU 11 totransmit the generated web page data to the terminal 500 (step S302).

As shown in FIG. 13, the top page indicates model No. (or model name)based on “Current Model” referred at step 301 The top page also includes“YES” and “NO” buttons for selecting manuals for the indicated model(“YES”) or manuals for other model (“NO”).

In case of requesting the manuals for the current model, the useroperates the terminal 500 to select “YES” button, and the terminal 500transmits a request signal for requesting manual pages of the currentmodel to the center 100 via the Internet 3. When the CCU 11 in thecenter 100 receives the request signal from the terminal 500, thecontrol unit 10 accesses the manual database 14 to retrieve theelectronic manual files for the product corresponding to “Current Model”referred at step S301 (step S304).

Upon retrieval of the electronic manual files, the control unit 10carries out a personalizing operation (step S400). This personalizingoperation will now be explained below with reference to a flowchartshown in FIG. 14.

The control unit 10 accesses the customer information database 12 torefer to the customer information (see FIG. 3) of the customer (stepS401).

If the control unit 10 finds any information in “History” of thecustomer information (step S402: YES), the control unit 10 obtainsinformation representing the date of upgrade. And, the control unit 10determines whether the number of days after the date of upgrade iswithin a predetermined period (for example, 1 month) or not (step S403).If it is determined that the number of days is within the predeterminedperiod (step S403: YES), the control unit 10 executes the CGI programand the like to generate web page data representing an option selectorpage as shown in FIG. 15. The control unit 10 controls the CCU 11 totransmit the generated web page data to the terminal 500 (step S404).

As shown in FIG. 15, the option selector page presents option between afull version of the manual for the current model (hereinafter, referredto as “full manual”) and an extract version comprising the electronicmanual files describing functions of the current model which aredifferent from the former model (hereinafter, referred to as“differential manual”). And the option selector includes “YES” and “NO”buttons for selecting the option. According to the message on the optionselector page, the user may select “YES” button if he/she requires thefull manual, or may select “NO” button if he/she requires thedifferential manual.

According to steps S402 and S403, option for the differential manual isprepared if it has been within a predetermined period since the userupgraded the copier 300. This is because it is supposed that the usermay be unfamiliar with functions of the new model around the initialstage immediately after the upgrade (in this embodiment, for 1 month),while he/she may be familiar with the functions which are the same asthose of the former model.

If the user operates the terminal 500 to select the differential manual(step S405: YES), the terminal 500 transmits a request signal forrequesting the differential manual (hereinafter, referred to as “requestfor differential”).

When the CCU 11 of the center 100 receives the request for differentialfrom the terminal 500 (step S405: YES), the control unit 10 selects theelectronic manual files describing the functions of the current modelwhich are different from those of the former model, from the electronicfiles retrieved in step S304 (FIG. 12) (step S406).

This manual file selection will now be described in detail. The manualdatabase 14 stores “Manual-File-Finder” tables (hereinafter, referred toas “MFF tables”) as shown in FIG. 16. The MFF tables are preparedcategory by category, such as copier, printer, and facsimile. As shownin FIG. 16, each table defines file name of the electronic manual filebased on model name and functions.

An example of file determination where the current model (determined atstep S301) is Model A002 and the former model (determined at step S402)is Model A001 will now be described.

The control unit 10 accesses the manual database 14 to refer to the MFFtable for the copier. And, the control unit 10 compares items for ModelA001 with those for Model A002.

In FIG. 16, as for the function “Centering”, both A001 and A002designate the electronic manual file “manu/copy/cent/001.htm”. Thismeans that there is no operational and/or functional difference betweenA001 and A002.

On the contrary, as for the function “Duplex Copy”, A001 designates theelectronic manual file “manu/copy/dup/001.htm”, while A002 designates“manu/copy/dup/002.htm”. This means that there are operational and/orfunctional differences between A001 and A002.

As comparing file names between target models, the control unit 10 picksup the file names designated by any one of the target models, andobtains the electronic file in accordance with the picked up file nameas files for the differential manual.

After thus selecting the files for the differential manual at step S406,or if the control unit 10 determined that there is no information in“History” (step S402: NO), or if the control unit 10 determined that thepredetermined period has passed (step S403: NO), the control unit 10further determines whether there is any information in “User Attribute”of the customer information concerned.

If the “User Attribute” includes any information (step S407: YES), thecontrol unit 10 selects the manual files corresponding to the userattribute information from the manual files obtained at step S304 orS406 (step S408).

The relationship between the user attribute and electronic manual files,for selecting the electronic manual files will now be described indetail. The electronic manual files are categorized, for example, byskill levels. The categories may be, for example, “Beginner”, “Basic”,“Middle”, and “Advanced”, and those categories are associated with theuser attribute, “Ordinary User”, “Key Operator”, “Administrator”, and“Purchaser”. For example, in case of “Ordinary User”, the electronicmanual files corresponding to “Beginner” and “Basic” may be selected. Inthe same manner, “Administrator” relates to “Basic” and “Middle”,“Purchaser” relates to “Beginner” and “Basic”, and “Key Operator”relates to “Middle” and “Advanced”.

If it is determined that the user attribute is not registered (stepS407: NO), the control unit 10 determines the electronic manual filesselected at step S304 or S406 to be presented.

The process flow forwards to step S305 (FIG. 12). In step S305, thecontrol unit 10 executes the CGI program and the like to generate webpage data representing an electronic manual page indicative of theselected electronic manual files. The control unit 10 controls the CCU11 to transmit the generated web page data to the terminal 500.

FIGS. 17, 18A, and 18B are diagrams showing an example of examples ofelectronic manual pages generated at step S305.

As shown in FIG. 17, the electronic manual page has two sections,section A and section B (indicated by broken lines). The section Aincludes ordinary objects such as menu buttons for selecting items ofthe manual. Those menu buttons are prepared for manual search. Thesection B includes contents of the electronic manual files selected atstep S406 or S408. It is featured that the section B may occupies thepage, that is, the electronic manual page shows the contents of theselected electronic files so as to focus the user on it.

The menu buttons in the section A may represent, for example, “TroubleShooting”, “How to Use”, “Functions”, “Recommended Functions”, and thelike. When the user selects the menu button “Trouble Shooting”, troubleshooting information corresponding to the user's “Current Model” will bedisplayed in the section B as shown in FIG. 18A.

The trouble shooting information may be in hierarchical structure, thatis, trouble index information representing kinds of troubles links totext and/or image files representing solutions. In response to theselection of the trouble index (by clicking or the like), the solutioninformation is presented step by step. The solution steps may berepresented by, for example, comprehensive movie or animation.

In a case where the menu button “Recommended Functions” is selected,information representing tips or the like recommended by themanufacturer/vendor of the copier 300 will be displayed in the sectionB.

A case where the user desires the electronic manual for a model otherthan the user's current model will now be described. When “NO” button onthe top page of the user's manual pages is selected, the terminal 500transmits a request signal for requesting manual for other model to thecenter 100.

When the CCU 11 of the center 10 receives the request signal from theterminal 500 (step S303: NO), the control unit 10 executes the CGIprogram and the like in the program memory unit 13 to generate web pagedata representing the item selector page as shown in FIG. 8. The controlunit 10 controls the CCU 11 to transmit the data to the terminal 500(step S306 (FIG. 19)).

As aforementioned, the item selector page has selector(s) such as acombo box or the like for selecting a product (model). In response tothe selection of the product, the terminal 500 transmits informationspecifying the selected product (product specifying information) to thecenter 100 via the Internet 3.

When the CCU 11 of the center 100 receives the product specifyinginformation from the terminal 500 (step S307: YES), the control unit 10accesses the manual database 14 to retrieve electronic manual filescorresponding to the product (hereinafter referred to as a “targetproduct”) specified by the received product specifying information (stepS308).

The control unit 10 executes the CGI program and the like in the programmemory unit 13 to generate web page data representing an electronicmanual page as shown in FIG. 20 which shows the contents of theelectronic manual files retrieved in step S308. The control unit 10controls the CCU 11 to transmit the web page data to the terminal 500(step S309).

As shown in FIG. 20, the electronic manual page also includes a buttonlinking to pages for presenting differential manuals between the targetmodel and the user's current model. The button (hyperlink) invisiblyincludes URL information specifying the pages of the differentialmanual. In response to selecting the button, the terminal 500 transmitsthe URL information is sent to the center 100.

When the CCU 11 of the center 100 receives the URL information from theterminal 500 (step S310: YES), the control unit 10 selects theelectronic manual files representing the functions of the target modelbeing different from those of the user's current model (step S311).

The control unit 10 executes the CGI program and the like in the programmemory unit 13 to generate web page data representing an electronicmanual page showing an example of the contents of the electronic manualfiles selected in step S311. The control unit 10 controls the CCU 11 totransmit the web page data to the terminal 500 (step S312), andterminates the operation.

According to the above operation, the center 100 provides the user withthe differential manuals between the current model and another modelwhich is a target for comparison. Therefore, the user can effectivelystudy about nominees for upgrading.

According to this embodiment as described above, when the registeredcustomer requests the electronic manual to the center 100, the center100 automatically selects the electronic manual files and provideshim/her with them without asking the user to input any information forspecifying the model. Thus, the customer can quickly obtain a desiredelectronic manual.

Further, if the user wants to study products (models) other than onehe/she currently uses before buying, the user can requests the center100 to provide him/her with differential manual describing functionaldifferences between the target model and the current model with justdesignating the target model (model name, model No., or the like).Accordingly, the user can study about target models efficiently. Sinceinformation regarding to the differences is transferred, it reducesconnection time for browsing the manuals.

In a case where a customer upgraded the copier 300 and it has beenwithin a predetermined period (for example, 1 month), the center 100provides the customer with option for the differential manual betweenthe current model and the former model.

According to this structure, the user can learn about significantfeatures of the upgraded model quickly. Since only necessary andsufficient information is transferred, it reduces connection time forbrowsing the manuals.

Since even anyone other than the registered customers can browse theelectronic manuals for a desired model, a person who plans to buy aproduct can study about target models in view of usability beforebuying.

In the above embodiment, the electronic manual pages are prepared on theweb site of the manufacturer/vendor of the copier 300. However, theelectronic manual providing page may exist solely on the Internet 3. Inthis case, the customer identification may be done at the time acustomer accesses the electronic manual providing site.

The center 100 of the above embodiment may be realized not only by adedicated system, but also by a general computer system. For example, itis able to establish an information providing site which executes theabove describe operations by installing a program for executing theabove-described operations into a general-purpose computer from a mediumwhich stores the program (such as a flexible disk, CD-ROM, or the like).

In this case, it may employ arbitrary means for providing the program tothe computer. For example, the program may be distributed throughcommunications networks, a communications system, or the like. In thiscase, the program may be uploaded on a bulletin board system (BBS) on acommunications network, and the program may be superimposed on a carrierwave signal, so as to be distributed through the network. And, the abovedescribed operations can be done by running thus distributed program inthe same manner for the other application programs under the control ofthe OS (Operating System).

According to the present invention, an electronic manual for a productbeing used by a customer is automatically selected and provided, and anelectronic manual describing functional differences between targetproducts is provided to users.

Various embodiments and changes may be made thereunto without departingfrom the broad spirit and scope of the invention. The above-describedembodiment is intended to illustrate the present invention, not to limitthe scope of the present invention. The scope of the present inventionis shown by the attached claims rather than the embodiment. Variousmodifications made within the meaning of an equivalent of the claims ofthe invention and within the claims are to be regarded to be in thescope of the present invention.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-338927filed on Nov. 7, 2000 and including specification, claims, drawings andsummary. The disclosure of the above Japanese Patent Application isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

1. A system for providing an electronic manual, the system operating ina communication network comprising a server and a plurality ofterminals, the system comprising: a manual database configured to storea plurality of electronic manual information sets, each set describingcontent of a user manual of each model of a product including aplurality of sections categorized by functions of the product, whereinfiles corresponding to the sections, respectively, are stored in themanual database so that a full manual regarding a current modelrepresenting a model number or a model name is stored in the manualdatabase and a differential manual describing functions of the currentmodel which are different from former models is stored in the manualdatabase; a customer information database configured to store customerinformation including at least customer ID information, productinformation indicating a model of the product currently owned by acustomer concerned, skill level information and upgrade historyinformation indicating upgrade history of models which had been owned bythe customer concerned; a receiver configured to (i) receive, via thecommunication network, product user manual request information withcustomer ID information from a terminal and (ii) refer to the customerinformation database to obtain customer information of a customercorresponding to the received customer ID information; a selectorconfigured to select, based on the customer information, filescorresponding to the model currently owned by the customer which are notshared with the models owned by the customer before upgrade, from thefiles stored in the manual database as a differential manual between thecurrent model and the former models according to the customer; and aprovider configured to provide to the terminal, via the communicationnetwork, the selected files representing trouble index informationlinked to solutions which are in hierarchical structure and arepresented step by step as the electronic manual.
 2. The system accordingto claim 1, wherein the selector selects the files corresponding to themodel currently owned by the customer which are not shared with themodel owned by the customer before the upgrade if a time period sincethe upgrade is within a predetermined period in order to help thecustomer to learn about significant features of the upgraded modelquickly.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electronicmanual information sets in the manual database are also categorized byskill levels, and the selector selects a basic level electronic manualinformation set or an advanced level electronic manual information setin accordance with skill level information of the customer information.4. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: an identifierconfigured to determine, based on the data stored in the customerinformation database, whether the customer ID information received bythe receiver corresponds to a registered customer, wherein the selectorselects an electronic manual information set based on productidentification if the customer ID information does not correspond to aregistered customer.
 5. A method for providing an electronic manual,comprising: preparing a manual database storing a plurality ofelectronic manual information sets, each set describing content of auser manual of each model of a product including a plurality of sectionscategorized by functions of the product, wherein files corresponding tothe sections, respectively, are stored in the manual database so that afull manual regarding a current model representing a model number or amodel name is stored in the manual database and a differential manualdescribing functions of the current model which are different fromformer models is stored in the manual database; preparing a customerinformation database storing customer information including at leastcustomer ID information, product information indicating a model of theproduct currently owned by a customer concerned, skill level informationand upgrade history information indicating upgrade history of modelswhich had been owned by the customer concerned; receiving, via acommunication network, product user manual request information withcustomer ID information from a terminal; obtaining, from the customerinformation database, the customer information corresponding to thereceived customer ID information; selecting, based on the customerinformation, files corresponding to the model currently owned by thecustomer which are not shared with the models owned by the customerbefore the upgrade, from the files stored in the manual database as adifferential manual between the current model and the former modelsaccording to the customer; and providing to the terminal, via thecommunication network, the selected files representing trouble indexinformation linked to solutions which are in hierarchical structure andare presented step by step as the electronic manual.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the step of selecting the files comprisesselecting the files corresponding to the model currently owned by thecustomer which are not shared with the models owned by the customerbefore the upgrade, if a time period since the upgrade is within apredetermined period in order to help the customer to learn aboutsignificant features of the upgraded model quickly.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein, the electronic manual information set arealso categorized by skill levels, and the method further comprisingselecting a basic level electronic manual information set or an advancedlevel electronic manual information set in accordance with skill levelinformation of the customer information.
 8. The method according toclaim 5, further comprising: determining, based on the data stored inthe customer information database, whether the received customer IDinformation corresponds to a registered customer; and selecting anelectronic manual information set based on product identification ifdetermined that the received customer ID does not correspond to aregistered customer.
 9. An apparatus for providing an electronic manual,comprising: a connector configured to connect the apparatus to aterminal via a communication network; a manual database configured tostore a plurality of electronic manual information sets, each setdescribing content of a user manual of a respective model of a productincluding a plurality of sections categorized by functions of theproduct, wherein files corresponding to the sections, respectively, arestored in the manual database and the files are shared among differentmodels of the products if the models concerned have the same functions;a customer ID database configured to store customer ID data inassociation with user attribute data including skill level informationclassified into some skill levels of the user and customer ownershiphistory information indicating differences between a current productowned and a former product owned; a receiver configured to (i) receive,via the communication network, product user manual request informationwith customer ID information from a terminal and (ii) refer to thecustomer ID database to obtain user attribute data associated with acustomer corresponding to the received customer ID information; aselector configured to select, based on the customer information, filescorresponding to the model currently owned by the customer which are notshared with the models owned by the customer before upgrade, from thefiles stored in the manual database as differential manual between thecurrent model and the former models according to the customer; aprovider configured to provide to the terminal, via the communicationnetwork, the selected files as the electronic manual; the manualdatabase configured so that a full manual regarding a current modelrepresenting a model number or a model name is stored in the manualdatabase and a differential manual describing functions of the currentmodel which are different from former models is stored in the manualdatabase; the customer ID database configured to store upgrade historyinformation indicating upgrade history of models which had been owned bythe customer concerned; and the provider configured to provide to theterminal selected files representing trouble index information linked tosolutions which are in hierarchical structure and are presented step bystep as the electronic manual.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9,wherein the selector selects the files corresponding to the modelcurrently owned by the customer which are not shared with the modelowned by the customer before the upgrade if a time period since theupgrade is within a predetermined period in order to help the customerto learn about significant features of the upgraded model quickly. 11.The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the electronic manualinformation sets in the manual database are also categorized by skilllevels, and the selector selects a basic level electronic manualinformation set or an advanced level electronic manual information setin accordance with skill level information of the customer information.12. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising: anidentifier configured to determine, based on the data stored in thecustomer information database, whether the customer ID informationreceived by the receiver corresponds to a registered customer, whereinthe selector selects an electronic manual information set based onproduct identification instead of user attribute data if the customer IDinformation does not correspond to a registered customer.
 13. A systemfor providing an electronic manual, comprising: storage means forstoring (i) electronic manual files, each file representing content of arespective model of a product including a plurality of sectionscategorized by functions of the product, wherein files corresponding tothe sections, respectively, are stored in the storage means so that afull manual regarding a current model representing a model number or amodel name is stored in the storage means and a differential manualdescribing functions of the current model which are different fromformer models is stored in the storage means, and (ii) customerinformation including at least customer ID information, productinformation indicating a model of the product currently owned by acustomer concerned, skill level information and upgrade historyinformation indicating upgrade history of models which had been owned bythe customer concerned; reception means for receiving a customer ID anda request for an electronic manual; an identifier configured to identifya requestor based on the customer information of the received customerID; selector means for selecting, based on the requestor's customerinformation, the files corresponding to the model currently owned by thecustomer which are not shared with the models owned by a customer beforethe upgrade, from the files stored in the storage means as adifferential manual between the current model and the former modelsaccording to the customer; retrieval means for retrieving, from thestorage means, the files selected by the selector means; sending meansfor sending to the requestor the files retrieved by the retrieval meanswhich are in hierarchical structure and are presented step by step asthe electronic manual and; providing to the terminal selected filesrepresenting trouble index information linked to solutions which are inhierarchical structure and are presented step by step as the electronicmanual.
 14. A method, embodied on a computer-readable medium andexecuted on a processor, for providing an electronic manual, the methodcomprising: preparing a manual database storing a plurality ofelectronic manual information sets, each set describing content of auser manual of each model of a product including a plurality of sectionscategorized by functions of the product, wherein files corresponding tothe sections, respectively, are stored in the manual database so that afull manual regarding a current model representing a model number or amodel name is stored in the manual database and a differential manualdescribing functions of the current model which are different fromformer models is stored in the manual database; preparing a customerinformation database storing customer information including at leastcustomer ID information, product information indicating a model of theproduct currently owned by a customer concerned, skill level informationand upgrade history information indicating upgrade history of modelswhich had been owned by the customer concerned; receiving, via acommunication network, product user manual request information withcustomer ID information from a terminal; obtaining, from the customerinformation database, the customer information corresponding to thereceived customer ID information; selecting, based on the customerinformation, files corresponding to the model currently owned by thecustomer which are not shared with the models owned by the customerbefore the upgrade, from the files stored in the manual database as adifferential manual between the current model and the former modelsaccording to the customer; and providing to the terminal, via thecommunication network, the selected files representing trouble indexinformation linked to solutions which are in hierarchical structure andare presented step by step as the electronic manual.